5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: 12 June 2017

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, June 12, 2017.

Actually, there are 14 updates for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…

14. Talent - Channel Leaders, Part I: PrinterLogic, which develops a server-less Enterprise Print Management solution, has hired Cisco and Box veteran Garrett Helmer as senior VP of channels.

Kenny Ash
Kenny Ash

13. Talent - Channel Leaders, Part II: TierPoint LLC, a national provider of hybrid IT/cloud solutions with 40 data centers in 20 US markets serving 5000+ customers, has promoted Kenny Ash to VP of channel. Ash joined TierPoint in 2016 as assistant VP, National Channel Sales, following five years with Peak 10.

12. New GE CEO & IoT: General Electric Co. named health-care head John Flannery its new chairman and CEO, ending Jeffrey Immelt’s 16-year tenure that included a withdrawal from financial services and a renewed focus on energy-related businesses, Bloomberg said. We're checking to see how Flannery may evolve GE's IoT strategy, which includes the poplar Predix platform.

11. Chip Business Acquisition?: Apple, Dell and Kingston Technology are members of a Foxconn-led consortium bidding for Toshiba's chip unit, the CEO of the world's largest electronics manufacturer told Reuters on Monday. Rival bidders include Western Digital and Broadcom, Reuters also reported. Toshiba is selling off assets amid the company's imploding nuclear-focused business.

10. City Wireless: Verizon is set to roll out free WiFi services across Sacramento, California, as part of a 10-year agreement with the city. The project also includes 5G cell towers and digital kiosks. Free municipal WiFi services have been a hotly contested market over the past decade, as cities, upstarts and entrenched broadband providers attempt to shape the market...

Greg Inks

9. Talent - Cloud & Managed Services: AKA Enterprise Solutions, an MSP and systems integrator with Microsoft Dynamics Gold qualifications, has hired Greg Inks to help drive the company's cloud consulting practice. The practice offers cloud strategy consulting, infrastructure engineering, managed services and native application development.

8. Partner Engagements: Inteleca, an IT solutions provider with fiber and cloud expertise, is now a Veeam reseller. The company announced similar deals with VMware and Trend Micro in recent weeks.

7. Zoho Backup: Turgs has launched a Zoho Backup Tool for Windows, which enables local backup of Zoho emails on Windows machines.

6. M&A - Data Centers: Digital Realty Trust Inc. is acquiring fellow data center operator DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. for an enterprise value of about $7.6 billion, its biggest-ever deal, to help expand in high-demand markets in the United States amid a rapid shift to the cloud by technology companies, Reuters says.

5. ESOPs and Employee Wealth: Employee ownership can broaden the wealth for the young middle class, according to a study of ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans). The multi-year study found ESOP workers had 33% higher median wage income, 92% higher median household wealth, and greater access to nine other employee benefits such as flexible work schedules, parental leave, and tuition reimbursement, plus greater job stability, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. Of course, ESOP business models also have some downside risks.

4. Amazon & Small Business Lending: Have you noticed that Amazon has quietly lent more than $3 billion to small businesses? We'll share more details soon.

3. When Help Desk Outsourcing Fails: Why would a customer cancel an outsourced help desk relationship and bring the service back inside? Check out this case study involving Western Sussex Hospitals, which ended an outsourcing deal and deployed Freshdesk on its own...

2. MSPs and ServiceNow: The Barcode Warehouse which provides barcode readers, radio-frequency identification (RFID) scanners and asset tags for tracking shipments, has used ServiceNow to improve its managed services, according to ComputerWeekly. ServiceNow has quietly won similar deals with dozens of midmarket MSPs in recent quarters, ChannelE2E has learned...

1. MSP Network Monitoring: Auvik Networks, the network-centric RMM (remote monitoring and management) software provider,  has announced a deeper integration with Autotask. MSPs can now access Auvik’s network inventory details—such as device name, IP addresses, and serial numbers—directly within Autotask, the companies say. Auvik has also been building close relationships with Continuum and ConnectWise, among others.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.